Approaching my freshman year of college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I was filled with excitement and anticipation. I was so eager to meet new people and be on my own. It was not until the mid-spring semester of my freshman year that I realized I was living on auto-drive. I had a difficult time engaging with my classes, connecting with my friends on a level deeper than the surface, and feeling like I was a part of the 30,000-student sea. It dawned on me that UMass Amherst did not provide me with a sense of home — and that was on me.
Entering my sophomore year, I made it a goal to prioritize healthy lifestyle choices in my daily, weekly, or monthly routine. Things like making sure my space was always clean, sticking to a gym routine, and finding alone time during the day even if that was for an hour before falling asleep. During my second semester, though, is when I really started to engage with UMass.
I signed up for a couple of yoga classes at the start of my sophomore spring semester. I practiced meditation, breath work, and yoga consistently and it opened my eyes to how beautiful the campus was even in the middle of February. Rather than feel lost in a sea of students and professors, I enjoyed embarking on my day-to-day life with the group of people that mattered most to me. These are two of the things I did to make UMass Amherst my safe space — my home:
Take advantage of the amenities around campus as much as possible
For me, the Recreation Center was daunting as a little freshman. Fall of my sophomore year, I was more comfortable with the gym, but it still brought on a few anxieties. When I made my routine and promised to stick to it, though, I started feeling more confident at the Rec Center. Rather than feeling like someone who was “in the way,” I felt like a regular and finally felt like I belonged. I no longer worried about who else was around me or if they were judging me because I made my gym appearances consistent on a day-to-day basis.
Study spaces were also a huge integration into my life. For example, the Student Union, the W.E.B. DuBois Library, and the Integrated Learning Center were three buildings I ventured to often. Just getting familiar with mainstream locations and finding a spot to sit at any of these locations helped me feel more involved in student life. I joined The Massachusetts Daily Collegian’s sports section and Her Campus, meeting new people and feeling a part of a group. Because of these two new affiliations, I was out and about more.
Actively engaging with even the physical buildings on campus made me feel less like a student who walked to and from class and much more like a person in college.
notice and appreciate the small things
Attending a college with a huge campus and large student population can be very intimidating. When I made an active effort to make UMass feel like home, though, I noticed all the small things around campus. Things as simple as the leaves changing colors and regrowing in the spring I learned to appreciate.
For me, appreciating everyone around me also made me feel like I was actively a part of the school environment. When the weather gets warmer, lots of students sit outside to do work, read, or just chat with friends. While we may not all know each other personally, each person on campus is experiencing a sense of community with each other in some way. In knowing that, UMass felt much more like a place of comfort to me. We are all experiencing the same campus in different ways, and that was a beautiful thing.
Outside of making my dorm my comfort space, actually engaging with the campus was what made UMass Amherst my home. Yes, meeting new people and making friends is a huge part of college. However, no one ever talks about the integration into a whole new society, especially at a campus that is basically a “college town.” I finally realized how beautiful UMass was and how well I meshed into the environment here.
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